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ByAlanFram The Associated Press WASHINGTON TheHouse's most hard-edged conser- vatives are anxious to de- rail Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's bid to become speaker, but they're out- numbered and their cho- sen candidate lacks sup- port. That leaves the Cali- fornian the heavy favorite when Republicans pick their candidate to replace John Boehner on Thurs- day. Members of the House Freedom Caucus an- nounced Wednesday that the group of several dozen rebellious conservatives would support longshot Republican Rep. Dan- iel Webster of Florida for speaker. But with McCar- thy expected to win Thurs- day's vote anyway, many were looking ahead to Oct. 29, when the full House formally elects the next speaker. "Most of us have recog- nized that what happens tomorrow is really not the fight. It's about the floor," said Rep. Matt Salmon of Arizona, a Freedom Caucus member. With Democrats sure to support one of their own, the GOP nominee will need 218 of the 247 House Republicans next month, a majority of the 435-member House. Con- servatives say they'll use that threshold to make demands in exchange for their support, perhaps promises to stop punish- ing Republicans who dis- obey leaders and to give rank-and-file lawmakers more power to pick com- mittee chairs. Fractiousgroup To wield leverage, the conservatives will need to remain unified — some- thing that has at times eluded the fractious group and drawn derision from more pragmatic GOP col- leagues. Rep. Tom Cole, R- Okla., mocked their pre- vious "Keystone Kops ef- forts" to deny Boehner the speakership, when the conservatives opposed the Ohio Republican's election but splintered their votes among six candidates in January 2013 and nine can- didates last January. Still, pressure from the conservatives helped force last month's abrupt an- nouncement by Boehner that he will leave Congress Oct. 30. By opposing legis- lation they considered too accommodating to Dem- ocrats, they have caused repeated headaches for Boehner ever since the GOP, fueled by grass-roots tea party outrage, recap- tured control of the cham- ber in the 2010 elections. Backed by tea party and other conservative orga- nizations, they've long ac- cused Boehner and his Sen- ate counterpart, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, of timid efforts against President Barack Obama's agenda. Punishment Now, many want to make sure the speaker's post doesn't go to McCar- thy, Boehner's top lieuten- ant. They consider him part of a leadership team that's been too quick to re- treat on issues like cutting Planned Parenthood's fed- eral funds and too will- ing to punish Republicans who don't follow their lead. Some conservatives who've clashed with leaders have been removed from coveted committee seats. "Folks are tired of go- ing to work at a body that doesn't matter," said Rep. Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina. "And we're tired of a leadership who begins a discussion by saying we don't matter. And I think that may ultimately have been John's undoing." In backing Webster, a former speaker of the Flor- ida House who mounted an unsuccessful past effort to oust Boehner, the Freedom Caucus is getting behind a candidate with little real- istic shot of prevailing. But if they stick together on the floor vote, they could deny McCarthy a majority, lead- ing the House into uncer- tain territory and perhaps increasing their leverage to push demands for rules changes or other conces- sions. The third candidate for speaker is Rep. Jason Chaf- fetz of Utah, who chairs the House Oversight and Gov- ernment Reform Commit- tee. As the GOP's numbers have grown — their House membership is their larg- est total in over 80 years — conservative lawmakers have organized into several organizations with overlap- ping membership. These include the Tea Party Cau- cus, the Conservative Op- portunity Society and the Republican Study Commit- tee. Freedom Caucus Most rambunctious has been the Freedom Caucus, which has frequently muti- nied against Boehner since its formation in January. Its members gather weekly in a private basement room in the Tortilla Coast res- taurant on Capitol Hill for strategy sessions. Their stated goal is to represent "countless Amer- icans who feel that Wash- ington does not represent them. We support open, ac- countable and limited gov- ernment, the Constitution and the rule of law, and pol- icies that promote the lib- erty, safety and prosperity of all Americans." The group won't release its membership list but claims around 40 mem- bers. As one measure of its rebelliousness, 15 of the 25 Republicans who opposed Boehner when the House re-elected him speaker in January appear on one un- official list of its members, and nearly two-thirds came to the House in the tea party wave of 2010 or later. Freedom Caucus mem- bers also come dispropor- tionately from Southern and Southwestern states and GOP-dominated House districts where their chief re-election worry is a po- tential Republican primary challenge. But where they see prin- cipled efforts to force party leaders to fight aggres- sively, more moderate Re- publicans perceive hard- liners with the clout to say "no" but the power and vi- sion to achieve little else. The caucus "has a very hard time getting to 'yes,'" said Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania. "The per- fect is always the enemy of the good." Others say the caucus is always threatening to force the GOP into fights that can only hurt the party, such as the 2013 par- tial government shutdown that the public blamed on Republicans. "If we become the party of shutdowns, showdowns, cliffs and congressional dysfunction, that will un- dercut our own presiden- tial nominee," said Cole, who's close to Boehner. SPEAKER SUCCESSION Ho us e co ns er va ti ve s op po se McCarthy, look for alternative ROBERTTONG—MARININDEPENDENTJOURNAL Marin County Sheriff's personnel investigate a homicide near the top of White's Hill on Old Railroad Grade near Fairfax. By Sudhin Thanawala and Paul Elias The Associated Press FAIRFAX Three people have been arrested in the killing of a California yoga teacher who was shot on a trail in what appeared to be a random crime while walk- ing his dog, authorities said Wednesday. Marin County sheriff's Capt. Dave Augustus de- scribed the three people taken into custody in Port- land, Oregon, as drifters and said a motive was unknown. The body of Steve Carter, 67, was found Monday in Marin County, where he was living and caring for his cancer-stricken wife Lokita Carter. Authorities previously said they were seeking three people whose images were captured on a nearby surveillance camera at a nearby convenience store. Authorities believe Carter drove to the trail near Fair- fax in his 2003 Volkswagen that was missing after the attack. Followers credited Carter withimprovingtheirroman- tic relationships by teaching tantra, a philosophy of med- itation, yoga and sexuality famously embraced by the rock star Sting. Stunned students and supporters mourned their beloved teacher who was still holding the leash of his wounded Doberman pin- scher when he was found. The dog is expected to re- cover. The Carters launched the Ecstatic Living Insti- tute in rural Middletown, California, about 16 years ago to teach tantra to cou- ples around the world. They held workshops nearby at the clothing-optional Har- bin Hot Springs, which was destroyed last month in a wildfire. "He was my mentor," said Greg Whitmore, 37, a fire- fighter who attended sev- eral weeklong retreats led by the Carters. "It was in- toxicating. People wanted to be around him." Last year, the couple turned the institute over to a former student, Logan Rose, and moved to Costa Rica in semi-retirement, teaching an occasional class. But soon after mov- ing, Lokita was diagnosed with breast cancer. "It has been a very trau- matic season for us with Lokita's cancer, then the Valley Fire that destroyed our beloved Harbin Hot Springs," Rose said. "This is the most dev- astating blow," Rose said of the homicide. "We are heartbroken." Lokita Carter didn't re- spond to requests for com- ment. Followers, students and friends have been pledging money and offering sympa- thy, Joya Petra Gallasch said in an interview that Carter was responsible for adding her new first name during a training session at Har- bin Hot Springs. Gallasch said she was depressed at the time and Carter led her to adopt the new first name of Joya. "I've always been a su- per joyous person," Gal- lasch said. "He knew intui- tively that it was time to get a new name. He exuded a form of brilliance." A hiker found Carter's body. Sheriff's deputies re- sponding to a report of shots fired 45 minutes ear- lier in the area didn't see anything suspicious. Carter's brother, Mi- chael Carter, said he knew of no one who disliked his brother. 3 arrested in killing of y og a te ac he r HIKING TRAIL EVAN VUCCI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, second from le , walks off a er speaking during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday following the weekly House Republican conference meeting with House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, second from right. The Associated Press LAYTONVILLE A California teen who stabbed to death his friend and his friend's father during a rampage in the home that took him in was sentenced to 71 years to life in prison. The sentencing judge said she intends for 19-year-old Talen Barton to remain in prison for the rest of his life, the Santa Rosa Press-Dem- ocrat reported. Mendocino County Judge Ann Moor- man said Tuesday that state prison officials will notify her if he ever becomes eli- gible for parole so she can argue against his release. "I'll see to it you never see the light of day," Moorman told Barton. "That's great," Barton said, flashing a thumb's up although he was shackled. Barton pleaded guilty to stabbing to death a 17-year- oldfriendandthefriend'sfa- ther in July in their Layton- ville home about 160 miles north of San Francisco. Bar- ton seriously injured two others in the house. Barton told psychologists he killed because he wanted to know what it was like to die. Barton lived in the fam- ily's home for two years af- ter his friend convinced his parent to take in the trou- bled teen. Barton pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty, the paper reported. On the night of the at- tack, Barton took a 17-inch knife from the kitchen and went into the bedroom where his 17-year-old friend Teo Palmieri was sleeping. Barton placed his hand over Palmieri's mouth and slashed his throat. Barton also killed Palmieri's father. Barton stabbed Palm- ieri's mother and his uncle, who was visiting from Can- ada at the time. Detectives said Barton showed no emotion when he wasarrestedaftercalling911 to report the stabbings. "He is an absolute mon- ster," Detective Clint Wy- ant said in his investiga- tive summary. RAMPAGE California teen who killed to feel death is sentenced to life in prison Professional Personal Convenient • Premium Digital Hearing Aids for every budget • FREE hearing evaluations • Service/Repair, all makes and models • Batteries & accessories • Preferred provider for most insurance plans: Including PERS, Carpenters, Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, etc. • Low monthly payment plan available • Trial Period/ Satisfaction Guaranteed AskaboutourOpenFitTechnology Discreet and Comfortable Limited Appointments CALL 1-800-488-9906 Performedforproper amplificationselectiononly. RedBluff Community Center 1500 So. 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